Cthulhu Gonfalon

Chapter 824: Vol V Chapter 184

Other than expanding its territory, the Republic of Northwest did not have other major happenings in the last few years. This was to be expected as the Republic by itself was rather stable. The country was strong, and there was legitimate governance. With such traits, even if 10, 20 or 30 years passed, it was highly probable that nothing out of the ordinary would happen.

In this world, countries often engaged in war. However, no sane army would dream of traveling great distances to attack the Republic of Northwest.

As for its neighboring countries… The east side of the Republic was an expansive mountain range that was virtually untouched by man. It could only be accessed through a few select canyons. Even if one managed to cross the canyons, the area was foggy and covered with snow, and it was extremely unsuitable for troops to travel through.

Furthermore, further east beyond the Gobi Desert and snowfields lay the Orc Empire's 'western wilderness. This was the area that was most loosely governed by the Orcs, and it was seen by the Orc Empire as an unimportant area. The fact that no one had attacked them was already surprising; they would never dream of trying to attack the Republic of Northwest.

On the other hand, the Republic's northern and western areas were surrounded by the big sea. In the sea, there were literate creatures, such as faraway mermaids and fishermen close to the shore. However, since the Republic of Northwest's informal leader, the Void Mask Lord, was the Goddess of the Ocean's guide, the ocean creatures would also not attack the Republic. After all, the Void Mask Lord was practically the Goddess of the Ocean's master and adoptive father in status. Even if they wanted to, it would not be easy as they did not even have a seaside city. Even if they ventured out from Void Mask City, which was nearest to the sea, and walked along the nearest coast in a straight line, it was still about 1300 miles. Such a great distance was impossible to conquer in the minds of the sea tribe.

The only area which had a rather intimate border distance with the Republic of Northwest was the Commonwealth of Gold Coins in the South. Yet, the Commonwealth was not strong by itself. The merchant tribe which straddled the two countries was also stronger on the Republic's end. Last but not least, the Republic had also assisted the Commonwealth of Gold Coins in the crisis of the past… People in the northern cities of the Commonwealth were even discussing the possibility of uniting with the Republic of Northwest. In the entire merchant tribes' meeting, more than one of them had mentioned this idea. Anyone who still believed that the two countries would engage in war really had to go for basic political science lessons and get hit hard on the head to wake up.

In any case, since none of the neighboring countries had hostile relationships with the Republic of Northwest and the internal governance of the Republic was steady, it was natural that nothing out of the ordinary had happened in the country. Other than the Fighter Championships, which happened every ten years and national day celebrations, nothing else was worth mentioning.

Sui Xiong nodded lightly, thought for a while, and asked, "Who was the victor of the recent Fighter Championships?"

Wall immediately uttered the name of a seasoned veteran, and Sui Xiong looked up in shock.

"I remember he participated in the first-ever Fighter Championships."

"Yes, but that was when he was still young, and his results were only average. Afterwards, with every new season that he participated in, he progressively improved and finally managed to emerge victorious this time around."

"Wow, he's really tenacious."

"Yes, he has been awarded the baron level in his village. If he continues to pursue his passion for sparring based on this strong foundation, he will become extremely formidable for sure."

After he spoke, Wall suddenly remembered something and exclaimed excitedly, "Oh yes! This time, there was a black horse in the Fighter Championships!"

"A black horse? Who?"

"Fira Kenji!" Wall assumed that Sui Xiong was not familiar with this character and continued to explain further.

"He's a local from the Republic of Northwest, a first-generation immigrant. He's a Half-Orc from the Pigman tribe. Originally, Fira was a chef. Afterward, he joined the combined exploration team and helped the Commonwealth of Gold Coins to explore a silver mine. Once, as he was on a delivery trip, he picked up an ancient explorer's relic, a magic ring."

"A ring?" Sui Xiong was rather curious as he thought about the novels he had read before coming to this world. "Was there perhaps an ancient mage's spirit hidden in the ring?"

"Ah? My lord, you're an expert in this?"

"No, I'm not too sure… please continue," Sui Xiong's mouth twitched, and he replied calmly.

Wall look at Sui Xiong with a bit of confusion, changing expressions before continuing to speak.

"The ring contains an ancient legendary mage who died many years ago. Fira tried to inherit his magic and revive his body."

"And it failed?"

"Yes, it failed. Fira's friend, Hopes Wilder, uncovered the evil ploy of that ancient mage and managed to use modern magic to allow Fira to swallow the mage's soul. Fira thus evolved and quickly grew into an outstanding mage. Fira focused deeply on mixing magic and the concept of eating together. With the help of Foodie Miramon and Nutritionist Mado Kong, he created a special magic system he named "Green Magic." This system is extremely special and utilizes the consumption of strange foods to copy the magic of strange creatures."

"So… Fira managed to obtain good results in the competition due to the novelty of his magic tactics?"

"Yes. If he competed with his actual powers, it would be a hard battle against the top four contestants. However, whether he did so was beside the point anyway. Fira mainly joined the competition for revenge."

"Revenge?"

"Yes. He has a grudge against the Ministry of Mines' exploration team, Ruby Siyu. Previously, when they worked together, he had suffered under Ruby's leadership and has been unable to let go of that grudge since. This is the biggest competition here, and Ruby joined it as well. Ruby had professed that he would do well here. Once Fira heard of this, he immediately registered for the competition as well at the last minute to compete with Ruby."

Wall paused for a second before saying, "Fira's luck was not very good, and in order to face Ruby, he had to fight his way to the top eight first. Each battle was extremely harrowing and dangerous, except for the battle with Ruby, which he won easily. Afterward, after beating Ruby and entering the top four, he actually pulled out…"

Sui Xiong couldn't help but laugh.

"Fira is indeed an interesting fellow!"